Pomp and stuff

Jayne and I spent Saturday watching a friend graduate from Grand Valley State University.

Derrick is the son of a person Jayne worked with, the woman whom Jayne tried to resuscitate at the school library.

Derrick was one of about 2,000 graduates who filled the Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids. The ceremony was nice and lasted about 2 hours. The speaker was U.S. Sen. Debbie Stanbenow, a Democrat from Michigan, who spoke about change. Standard graduate talk, really, but luckily bereft of politics and patriotic jingoism.

I have a picture above of us leaving the arena, walking back to the parking lot in Grand Rapids. Note how people look huddled. It was windy and chilly considering the day or so before it was 80 degrees. I guess 45 is cold compared to that.

After the ceremony, we joined Derrick and his two aunts for a dinner at Via Maria in Holland (Get the tri-colored tortellini. Great!) then some conversation at Derrick's house on Holland's northside.

It was an enjoyable evening. I like the educated banter with the group that swings from high literature (don't tell Kay you don't like Flannery O'Conner!) to fart jokes.

I'm so out of shape when it comes to socializing that, after we got home, I put the kids to bed, fell asleep while Alyssa read aloud, then woke; then fell asleep while Elspeth read a short story, then awoke; got the laundry out of the dryer then went to bed, all by 11 p.m. Man, I'm old.

Thought: I wonder what it was like to be the last person to cros that stage to get the degree?

Shaken then stirred

Now I can say I lived through an earthquake.

West Michigan was part of that 5.2 quake out of Illinois Friday morning. It woke me up about 5:30 a.m. I kept wondering why a tractor trailer was parked at the neighboring funeral home, shaking the house with its diesel engine. I wondered why the funeral home would be getting a casket delivery before dawn.

So, a quake sounds like a truck, not a train.

Our chocolate Lab, Milo, was very disturbed, so I got up and let the dogs out. They usually bound out of the house, wagging their tails and tearing through the yard, but this time, they slinked out the back door, urinated in the middle of the yard and stood there quietly with their tails between their legs.

When I let them in, they had to be coaxed to eat. They followed me into the bathroom and stayed there while I showered. Not usual behavior

I thought I was imagining things but when I flipped on the news, it was confirmed that I felt the Great Tremblor of '08.

Thought: So, I can say I survived the Blizzard of 77, Ice Storm of 78 and now this.

Roast duck

We get birds in our fireplace.

No, we don't have mesh over the top. That was removed several years ago when we planned on fixing the chimney. The money, though, went up in smoke, so our fireplace sits cold and empty -- except for the birds.

Starlings will often tumble down the chimney like some dwarf feathered St. Nick. We block off the back room, open a window and chase the bewildered beast out of the house.

So, black birds, starlings and sparrows are normal fare. The other night when I got home from work, I was informed that we had another beaked visitor.

Annoyed, I started the process of getting the clumsy fowl out before it killed itself or the dogs got it. To my surprise, this bird was pretty big. When I got hold of it, it stuck its neck out and the flat bill was obvious as it nipped at the air.

It was a duck.

After I let it go in the great outdoors, I watched it fly off, looking like the ducks down by the river who swarm when I bring the bread crumbs.

And, yes. I have a witness. My wife saw the whole thing.

Thought: Home ownership isn't all it's quacked up to be.

Odyssey's end

I finished "The Odyssey" yesterday, rounding out my rehash of the classics.

I liked this best of "The Illiad" and "Aeneid," because of the depth. The story is told in part as remembrances and the other as "live" action. I had forgotten that the cyclops encounter and the slaughter of Helios' cattle were really just a small part of the work.

I still remember watching a multi-part interpretation of the work on a Canadian TV station back in the late 1970s. Even through the static from Toronto, it was a good story.

One reason I got to finish Homer's epic is because I had a nasty intestinal bug that kept me in the bathroom all Sunday and this morning. What else is there to do when you can't leave the pot but to read?

I actually called in sick today -- a rarity. Jayne was quite concerned with my problem as well as the fever and aches in the joints. I was pretty bad off with pains in all my joints, but especially my hands and knees this time. She even asked if I should go to the hospital. I declined.

But I'm better this afternoon after some medication, some food (finally, it stayed inside!) and a nice long afternoon nap.

Thought: I would have never made it back to Ithaca.

Growing up

Elspeth had her first sex ed class Friday. Her response was "gross."

Jayne and I borrowed the movies a few days ahead of time and watched them. Pretty tame. Lots of scientific talk that will go over the kids' heads. I was a bit disappointed that it dealt only with girls having feelings for boys. It should really address same-sex desires in the same way.

The main film had one gap, though. It talked about male and female reproductive organs then jumped right to fertilization of the egg. It mentioned that sperm "deposited" on the outside can make its way to the egg. It never said how the sperm gets in to begin with.

I asked one of my coworkers if his kids had a sex ed class, and said his son had one recently. I asked about this chronological gap and he said the class his son had also left out actual intercourse. So, he explained the actual act to his son. His son was duly grossed out after asking if "mom and dad" did this.

Thought: How things change!